Ghosts and Promises
by Valkerie
Summary: Kitty plans to travel the world following the death of Nathaniel. But then comes the appearance of a ghost, and the summoning of Bartimaeus. T for possible future themes.
1. Nathaniel

Kitty Jones looked up from her atlas. She picked up her pen and scribbled a few notes:

_Bali_

_Abu Dhabi_

_Ceylon_

She looked up absentmindedly. It was late; the clock told her it was already morning. Kitty read her atlas by lamplight.

And image of Nathaniel came unbidden to her mind. With it came a sharp stabbing feeling in her chest. Kitty pushed them both away.

Her grey hair obscured her face as she immersed herself once more in the atlas. A thought arose, and she flipped through the volume until she came to the section about Egypt.

She could go there first, see the place where Ptolemaeus had lived. Where he had spent his life studying. Where he had opened the first Gate.

Where he had died, so young, younger even than-

_Stop it!_

_Don't think about him._

Kitty's throat tightened, and she reached for her tea, long cold by now.

She took a long sip. Immediately she felt better. Kitty closed her eyes, blocking out the soft light of the lamp.

_So peaceful..._

Kitty opened her eyes, set down her tea, and closed the heavy atlas, which she placed carefully by her feet. She picked up a sketchbook.

Kitty had recently been teaching herself to draw. With the aid of art books and actual artists, who were all too happy to instruct her, considering she had helped to save their lives, Kitty's skills were improving rapidly.

She turned the pages slowly, and slower still, until she came to a portrait that she had come to think of as a raw wound. But one that healed with its pain.

Nathaniel.

His pale skin, short black hair -so black it shone- his sharp nose and precise features, his calculating eyes, they were all captured perfectly. It was by far her best work.

After all, she knew the subject so well.

The edges of the page were not stained with tears. The bleached grains of wood had heard no sniffle, no grief-stricken sob. Kitty did not cry easily.

Even so, the picture tore her apart.

She did not know why she had drawn it, or why she stared at it for long, long minutes in the darkest hours of the night. Perhaps so she would not forget his beautiful face...but no, that would never happen, with or without the drawing.

She would always remember Nathaniel.

How he had hunted her. How she had saved his life, and he had thought her dead because of it. How he had sought her out when he learned that she lived. How they had, together, saved England from a legion of demons. How he had died, so horribly, killing the strongest in that army.

Nathaniel had broken his promise.

Kitty closed the sketchbook.

She closed her eyes.

She dreamt of ghosts.

And when she woke, she did not remember her dreams.


	2. The Uncommon

Bright sunlight filtered through the open library window. In the soft band of light, multiduous dust motes danced.

Kitty opened her eyes.

She stood up and stretched. Her aged joints hurt from falling asleep in her chair.

Kitty reached for the empty tea glass. She slowed her hand. The sketchbook was not where she had left it last night. Had someone been looking through her drawings?

The thought filled Kitty with a brief flash of anger. These drawings were hers, her private thoughts. No one touched them, so much as spoke of them without permission.

Kitty searched through the pages, to make sure nothing had been bothered. When she came to the last sketch, she breathed a sigh of relief. Nothing was changed. She was about to close the sketchbook when she saw a shadow on the last page, like the faded image of a drawing behind another. A peculiar tension seized her throat.

Kitty turned the page.

On the page was a portrait of herself, ethereal in quality, perfect in capturing her essence. In the portrait, she was neither old nor young, but in a perfect homeostasis betwixt the two. There was a slight, almost glowing nimbus about her head, elaborating out of the corona of her hair. The expression on her face was one of regal agony, as if she held her head high, uttered not a word on the matter, but was dying inside, perhaps already dead. Which was true. Painfully true.

At the bottom of the page was the phrase, "The Uncommon."

And, close beside that, a single letter, in spidery, flowing script.

N.

Kitty closed the sketchbook and looked ahead. She drew a deep, shuddering breath. She closed her eyes and fought the tears that threatened.

She stayed that way for perhaps a minute, until her hands ceased their shaking. Then she opened her eyes and hefted the sketchbook, which weighed more than it ever had.

She stared at the sketchbook's cover. Who had sought to cause her such pain? Who would go to such lengths to tear her heart so violently?

Kitty lifted her shoulder bag and placed the sketchbook reverently within. She would keep the drawing. She would wear its memory as a badge of strength. Whoever her enemies were, she would not bow and weep at their feet.

She would state her defiance in her silence.

She would not let herself be hurt.

She would hold her head high, though inside she was dying.

Kitty replaced the atlas on its shelf, and exited the library, with the sunlight illuminating her forsaken teacup.


	3. Dreams

**Hi, Valkerie here! Just FYI, the italic section of this chapter is from another character's POV. Three guesses who.**

**DISCLAIMER: I do not own the Bartimaeus Trilogy, though I have finally succeeded in summoning Bartimaeus, who tried to kill me. When he realized I just wanted to ask questions (i.e., How many spirits are there? Does the Other Place have any boundary whatsoever? ) he stopped trying to end my life. :) **

**My chapters are kind of short, I know, but I update faster that way. :)  
**

_Only one image showed in my mind. Kitty's face, soft and radiant, with her grey hair accentuating her cheekbones. I couldn't focus for long on anything else. I only remembered Kitty._

_There were lightning flashes of memory, but they never lingered. At times, I could see stars inside circles, a dark boy in ancient clothing. A pendant, very important, with the flash of jade at its center._

_And then it was gone._

_I couldn't figure out how I'd gotten here, not that I much cared. Where was I any way?_

_Did it even matter?_

_What matters?_

_And then Kitty's face would resurface, and I would get this feeling like there was something I should do._

_And then I'd sink down again, down into the ether, and forget..._

Kitty woke with a start.

She looked down at the sketchbook in her lap, at the drawing she'd been working onwhen she fell asleep.

The drawing wasn't there.

In its place, the face of the next page, painted with Kitty's visage.

This portrait was done in the charcoal that Kitty had been working with.

Kitty felt a deep weight in her stomach.

Maybe someone's summoned spirit could be quiet enough to draw her picture without waking her, but to take the charcoal that she held in her hand? That was frightening.

Very much so.

Kitty started looking for the chalk.


	4. The Summoning

The pentacles were drawn, the incense burning. Everything was perfect.

Kitty drew a deep breath, and stepped into her pentacle.

As she entered, her foot smuged the chalk border.

Kitty spoke the incantations without flaw.

A plume of smoke erupted in the opposite pentacle.

"Who dares to summon me, the destroyer of empires, the devourer of centuries?

I, Sakr-al-Jinni, I, the Serpent of Silver Plumes, I, who have spoken with Solomon, I,-

_Kitty_ _?_"

"Bartimaeus."

"Kitty?"

"No, Simon Lovelace."

"Kitty, wha- I mean, why-? ...Are you doing all right?"

Kitty smiled, and stepped out of her pentacle. "Yes, I am."

Her smile faded. "Bartimaeus, I'm afraid I must ask your help once more."

"What's wrong?"

"Someone, or someone's de - spirit, has been sneaking into my room while I sleep, and drawing in my sketchbook."

"Do you have any idea who it could be?"

"No. And here's the thing: they've been drawing pictures of me, with an aura, and..."

"And?" Bartimaeus prompted.

"And signing them with an N."

Bartimaeus immediately coalesced into the form of Ptolemy. "This could be bad," he said.

Kitty didn't speak for a moment.

Then, finally, "I know."

She looked up. "This is why I summoned you. I trust you completely, Bartimaeus. I'd like you to watch over me while I sleep, for a few days. You can see all seven planes. You'll know who or what has been sneaking in at night. Will you do that for me?"

"Absolutely."

Kitty smiled again. "It's good to see you, friend."


	5. Night Watch

Bart's POV:

This night was particularly dark; tonight was the new moon.

Of course, Kitty's aura lit the whole room. Since she had opened the Gate and journeyed to the Other Place, her aura was wise and blinding.

Kitty snored softly.

I glanced her way. She seemed so small, so fragile. Of course, if she knew that I was thinking that, she would undoubtedly find some highly unpleasant way to kill me.

I laughed silently.

Out of the corner of my vision, I caught the slightest of movements. I turned, a Detonation at the ready.

And saw, on the the seventh plane, Nathaniel.

If I had a heart, it would have stopped beating by now.

On the first five planes, there was nothing to see.

On the sixth, a wisp of smoke.

On the seventh, a boy I well knew to be particles floating in the London smog.

I sighed a sigh that I felt deep in my essence.

Some people can see ghosts, because they can see more than their particular share of planes. Kitty had resistance, but she wasn't a seer.

And there was nothing I could do.

**Okay, I know this is really short. Like I said, I update faster this way.**

**Thanks to BleedingOpal for placing my story on alert!**

**And Mousewhisker, thanks for the review. Until you reviewed, I was beginning to think all the Bartimaeus fanfic people had died or disappeared.**

**And to anyone else who reads this, thank you sososo much! I love you!**

**You know the drill, people:**

**I do not own The Bartimaeus Trilogy.**

**READ AND REVIEW! **

**Thanks,**

**Valkerie  
**


	6. Drifter

Bart's POV.

I walked slowly up to Nathaniel.

I remembered painfully our last moments together. We had been busy saving London and the world from an army of spirits in human bodies, with Gladstone's legendary - and now demolished - Staff. Nathaniel had let my essence meld with his, by way of magic, and our minds were stuffed into his tiny, thick, extremely arrogant skull.

We had, together, used the staff to destroy the hybrids and save the world.

In the killing of the strongest demon of the army, Nathaniel had dismissed me, claiming my incompetence would surely botch the job. We both knew he was saving my miserable life.

But nobody saved Nathaniel.

So, here he was, apparently held to earth by one Kathleen Jones, and one of the saddest romances I had ever seen.

As I watched, Nathaniel gently pulled Kitty's pencil from her sleeping fingers, and lifted the sketchbook, which he let go of, and it floated in midair.

Nathaniel's ghost touched pencil to paper, and drew a long, sweeping line, which then continued upwards. He formed the rest of Kitty's face in similar perfect lines, and her aura the same.

Her folded hands, on which her chin rested, were shaped from smuged graphite.

The resulting portrait was unearthly in its beauty, and phenominal in its workmanship.

This portrait bore no title, and so Nathaniel slowly signed an N in the bottom right corner.

Then he began to disappear.

I made a decision, and projected my voice onto the seventh plane.

"Nathaniel," I said.

the ghost did not respond.

I called his name again, louder this time.

"Nathaniel!"

He turned with an aching slowness. I knew why. I was not his tie to earth, so he would not respond easily when I called him.

He was facing me now, and I watches his brow furrow in slow motion.

Then, the faintest whisper of a voice:

"Bartimaeus?"

I nodded. "Good to see you again."

He turned to look at Kitty.

"She's sleeping," he said, in that spider-silk voice.

"She's seen your drawings," I said.

"She won't wake up."

"She can't see you, or hear you. She cant see the planes you're visible on. She thinks you're the demon of one of her enemies."

"Kitty." he said.

If he were still alive, I would have rolled my eyes, and said something rude. But ghosts are nothing but tenuously anchored essence, and they tend to...drift. If you get my drift.

"Wake her?" He looked vaguely hopeful.

"She can't see you, Nathaniel."

"Where's the Amulet, Bartimaeus? Have you succeeded in procuring it?"

I bit my lip.

"Yes, I have. All is going well."

"If I find that you have disobeyed me, demon, I will..."

He was silent, and stared for long minutes at someplace over my shoulder.

"Goodbye," he said softly, and began to disappear.

I closed my eyes and sighed. Ghosts couldn't stay in the human world for any great length of time; the Void always, always called them back. Ghosts who did not fulfill their mission would travel back and forth for countless years, until a seer could send them on their way.

I could still see Nathaniel, because on the seventh plane I was just essence. I didn't need to open my eyes to know when he was gone.

I sighed again. Two of the three people I had ever cared for were dead. I wasn't happy about it, but an immense weight was settling in my heart.

**So Nathaniel isn't really focusing well right now. Poor Nathaniel, tied to Kitty, and Kitty can't see him...**

**Or can she?**

**Read on to find out!**

**And don't forget to review!  
**


	7. Dreaded Morning

I watched Kitty's eyes open. She squinted slightly at the late morning sun, then turned toward me.

"Good morning," she said sleepily.

"Morning," I answered. With the news I had, it might not be so good.

Her brow tensed ever so slightly. "You saw something."

I decided to spare a preamble. "Yes. Nathaniel."

Kitty's eyes widened, and she gasped. I think she was choking a little.

She shook her head, eyes still locked in a paradigm of disbelief.

"No." she whispered.

She closed her eyes and shook her head harder.

"No."

"Kitty, he's here because of you."

She looked up, her eyes now burning with pain. "Then why doesn't he wake me when he comes?" 

"He's...unfocused."

"What does that mean?"

"It means that he can't stay here long, and can't hold on to any sense of purpose. I spoke with him last night, and he asked me if I'd gotten the Amulet from Lovelace yet. Even though he's tied to you, he doesn't totally realize where he is. And, Kitty..."

"Yes?"

"He couldn't wake you if he tried. He's only Nathaniel on the seventh plane. You can't hear him, or see him. I'm...sorry."

I could see Kitty's jaw tense. She was fighting tears, I knew.

"So, then these drawings are the only way he can communicate with me?"

I nodded. "It would seem so."

Kitty picked up her pencil.

"Would you mind staying another night, Bartimaeus?"

I debated this. Not for long.

"I'll stay for as long as you need me."


	8. Focus!

_Kitty._

I could see her world forming around me. I wasn't exactly sure how I made the transition from the other world to hers, but I was grateful.

I spent a moment just looking at Kitty, her beautiful face, her slender hands wrapped around the blanket hem. This was the first night I hadn't found her sleeping in the library.

I ran my hand over her face; her hair, her cheekbone, her perfect lips. Kitty never stirred.

The first night I had shaken her, had whispered in her ear, but it was no use. I couldn't wake her.

I was vaguely aware of another presence off to the left, on the other side of the bed. I ignored it, and picked up Kitty's sketchbook.

I had trouble writing; too structured, I suppose. Drawing was slightly more abstract, and I could manage that.

I turned the pages of the sketchbook until I found the last one I had done. I turned the page one more time, and saw a picture I hadn't been expecting. Me.

Before, there had only been one drawing of me. Now, it appeared, there were several. On this page, various studies of my face, my eyes, my hands. It was amazing that she remembered me so clearly. I looked at her once more, soundly sleeping, and repressed the urge to kiss her. It wouldn't be right, not without her consent, or even knowledge.

_Who's consent?_

I was fading. I had to do tonight's portrait.

This time I focused on an image it hurt to remember. Kitty, her soul in the Other Place, lying in her smudged pentacle, with an iron key in her hand. I had thought her dead.

I wanted her to see the agony I had felt then. I wanted her to see what I had seen. If this was the only way to communicate with Kitty, I wanted her to feel my love for her.

I drew her face first, as always. Then her hair, and the pillow it was spread upon. Then her neck, arms, chest, midsection, and her legs. I filled in the texture of her clothes.

The page wavered in my vision. I didn't have long left.

I drew in the pentacle, the pentacle opposite. The rest of the room took shape.

I put all of the pain I had felt at that moment, into the portrait.

I...

was fading.

fading.

There was a hand on my shoulder.

A voice came from behind me.

"Nathaniel." 

I turned, to to see the familiar form of Bartimaeus.

"Good to see you," I said.

"You, as well."

I looked at Kitty.

"Will you wake her for me?"

Bartimaeus frowned sadly. "She can't see the plane you're on. She can't see you, or hear you. And she never will. Maybe you should...move on soon, Nathaniel."

"She drew another picture of me. Several."

"Yes."

"Does she know I come here?"

"Yes. I told her, and she drew that picture to try and communicate with you."

"She can write. I can't write, but I can read. She can write."

"I'll tell her."

I looked at my hands, they were disappearing, and I couldn't stop them.

I looked up again. "I'm fading, Bartimaeus. Goodbye. Do say hello to Kitty for me. Tell her to write. Goodbye..."

And then there was Void.


	9. Kitty's Brain Gets a Lucky Synapse

Kitty's POV.

_There was something I had to do, had to do..._

_Not just yet..._

_But-_

_Important!_

I woke with a start. I sat straight up, and tried to figure out where I was.

Oh, yeah. My room. I'd actually slept in my room. Not the dusty old armchair in the library, with _Apocrypha _in one hand and my Greek translation book in the other.

And there was something...

My sketchbook!

I rolled out of the bed so fast, I ended up on the floor, tangled up in my blankets.

As I struggled to break free, I heard a laugh from a highly amused djinni.

I turned my head to glare at the dark Egyptian boy laughing at me : Bartimaeus, having taken on the semblance of Ptolemy.

"Help me, will you?"

Ptolemy's grin grew even wider. "What's the magic word?"

I blew a strand of hair from my face. "Fine. _Please_, help me. Good enough for you, you insufferable bastard?"

Bartimaeus sighed theatrically. "I suppose I shall just have to tolerate your _insufferable _attitude."

I scowled at him as he helped me untangle myself.

When I was finally free, I impatiently grabbed my sketchbook off of my nightstand. I flipped the pages as quicly as I could, until I found Nathaniel's latest.

It was me, when I was in the Other Place. He had drawn my body lying in its pentacle, my head on a cushion and the key in my hand.

I remembered how relieved he had seemed when I awoke. He had thought I was dead.

And then, after I could stand, we had melded him and Bartimaeus. And he had been able to do things no other human could...

I was getting the beginnings of an idea.

**Thanks so much to Anne Gable. I very much appreciated your review and the fact that you added this story to your favorites list. *grins***

**I (regrettably, and to my eternal discontent) do not own Mr. Stroud's remarkable genius. *sighs***

**Remember to review!**

**Peace and Pies,**

**May the odds be ever in your favor,**

**Live long, and prosper,**

**-Valkerie  
**


	10. To Feel Another's Pain

**Okay, this chapter is incredibly and unforgivably brief, I know. But I realized (thanks to Anne Gable) that I had made a giant mistake: I didn't show Kitty's reaction to the drawing. So, with many apologies and a big thank-you to Anne, here it is.**

**:)  
**

Kitty's POV.

I took a deep breath. My idea had sparked so quickly that I wasn't able to concentrate on the portrait. I quelled my excitement and looked back down at the sketchbook.

As always, the lines were perfect. The shading was perfect. But there was something about this particular drawing that made it different. I unconciously leaned closer.

And then I realized how much it must have hurt Nathaniel to see me like this. That feeling was what this picture was meant to convey. His pain, how he had ached when he thought I was dead. The same way I had felt when the Glass Palace was destroyed.

I had managed to inflict that kind of agony on someone. And now that I had experienced it myself, my heart ached for him.

Seeing the one you love lying on the ground -or blown up with a million shards of glass and iron- is not a pleasant experience.

So this drawing did not reveal a facet of me, did not accent a particular feature, but instead showed me the full effect I had on Nataniel. Part of the reason that he had come back.

But realizing this did not enable me to see him.

And that was where my idea came into play.


	11. Thank You

Bart's POV.

I blinked Ptolemy's eyes in shock.

"No," I said. "I will not. Ever. Never again."

Kitty narrowed her eyes. "You're the only one I trust."

"Duh," I said.

Kitty kept staring at me. It was rather disconcerting, actually. "You would have done it for Ptolemy," she said.

"I already did it for Nathaniel."

Her brow furrowed; she was worried. "Please, Bartimaeus. I love him. And you can see him. Please."

"You won't object to me knowing every one of your thoughts? _Every_ one?"

"No."

Damn. That was pretty much all I had. She knew I wouldn't hurt her, and even I knew I would eventually give in,

Ptolemy looked aside and narrowed his eyes. "Fine," I said.

To my surprise, Kitty flung her arms around me. Normally I would never tolerate this, but I could tell she was emotional anyway.

"Thank you," she whispered.

**haha. you don't get to know Kitty's idea until next chapter. unless you've already figured this out. I'm gonna go ask Bartimaeus more questions, now. **

**(What are the basics of nuclear physics? Do naked singularities exist? Is it possible to travel faster than light? blahblahblahblahblahblahblah...)**

**Valkerie Out:)  
**


	12. Heightened Senses

**Sorry for the long wait, I had severe writer's block for this story. :( I'll post the next chapter soon! **

**Reviews are life.**

The deep blue glow of darkening twilight settles around the library and its two occupants.

Kitty set the chalk down. She and I stood in opposing pentacles, each with a break in their lines.

Kitty closed her eyes and began to chant. Neither of us moved as she spoke the incantaion, and then I felt the familiar pull of a summmons.

But this wasn't your everyday summons.

The transition was so fluid, it was almost indistinguishable. I could feel my essence being drawn into Kitty's pentacle. Into her mind. Her thoughts flowed all around me, in bright little flame of color, in shapes and touches and sounds and tastes and smells.

She was hurting. She was overjoyed. She was frightened, and desperately telling herself she had no reason to be. Which was almost true.

I flexed Kitty's fingers experimentally. I turned in a circle, and I jumped a couple of times.

"Everything seems to be in working order," I said.

Kitty spoke. "Alright, let me do the walking and the talking, and I'll use your sight and your hearing."

I did my best to sound petulant. "So I just...what, stand here?"

Kitty retorted, "No, I stand here. You do nothing."

"Fine."

Kitty made a cup of tea, pulled the atlas out of her bookbag, an we sat down to wait.


	13. Stars

**A/N: I know I was gone for, like, six months. I am so, so sorry. If everybody gave up on me, I won't blame you. I just... I could not think of how to finish this. I couldn't get that last chapter out. That said, I don't really like this one. I'm entirely unsatisfied, and I may redo it someday. **

**If you're still with me, I will love you forever, and you get a lifetime supply of cookies. :)**

**So, here we go, the long-overdue last chapter.  
**

The first sign of Nathaniel was a slight disturbance in the air near the far right bookcase. It began to take on a certain opacity, and after a few moments, a pale mist hovered about six feet above the floor. That mist started drawing in on itself, acquiring more substance every second. I watched with wide eyes as it slowly took the form of someone I had not seen for many dark months.

My heart hurt. He looked so... lost. What was it Bartimaeus had said?

_"Unfocused. You don't pay attention very well."_

I watched as Nathaniel looked around, and then turned toward me. He spoke, and I caught my breath.

"Kitty."

I stood, supporting myself with my arms. I didn't trust my shaking legs just yet. "Nathaniel." My voice quavered, and my eyes filled with tears.

The ghost's eyes widened. "You can hear me?"

I smiled weakly. "Bartimaeus is inside my head, I'm afraid."

_"Hey!"_

Nathaniel frowned. "Just like..."

"Yeah."

I raised my arms in his direction and took a step forward. I felt tears spill onto my cheeks. Nathaniel walked forward to meet me, and I felt his arms wrap around me, and I cried.

I don't know how long he held me like that, there in the library. I didn't care. All that mattered were his arms around me, and his shoulder beneath my head, and his voice murmuring my name.

After uncountable minutes, I lifted my head and looked up at Nathaniel. "I missed you." I whispered.

He closed his eyes, and I was surprised to see a tear make its way down his misty cheek. I hadn't known ghosts could cry.

He pulled away, placing his hands on my shoulders. "There's something I should have done, and never did."

And then his arms were around me again, one hand tangled in my hair, and his lips were on mine. His kiss was soft and cold, close as skin, and yet as far away as the stars. I could feel those stars in my veins, cold and bright and beautiful. In that moment, I was a being of pure light.

And then Nathaniel pulled away again. His eyes were full of silence, and he was growing transparent. I fought burning tears as he spoke to me for the last time. "I will wait for you."

I fell to my knees as he faded, and cried there alone in the darkness.


End file.
